Speak Softly, and Carry a Golden Flower
by Prettydog200
Summary: It's apparent to everyone that Flowey has to be redeemed, but is he really the one in need of redemption? Post-Pacifist. Floweypot AU. Contains violence and some adult themes in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1: Foolin'

Chapter 1: Foolin'

How long has it been since Flowey had seen another person or monster or anybody? The flower used to count by plucking other flowers and throwing them in a pile. He lost track after 67. Ever since the prophecies came to pass about the underground being emptied out, things had been a little more _quiet_ around here. Still. Silent.

Another icy breeze snapped the flower's stem as he stood there motionlessly, as if it didn't matter at all. These days, it seemed to be the only company Flowey had. He remembered when Frisk came and found Asriel among this very same bed of buttercups. Asriel told the child to leave him. After everything he had done, he thought things would be better this way. Eventually Asriel was left among all the golden flowers where, at some point, he became one, himself. Again.

Well, it wasn't like he wasn't expecting it. On the other hand, part of him wished it hadn't come on so quickly. If Flowey had to be honest with himself, the underground looked as if it had been purged with no dust to show for it. Nothing. No self-recognition, no proud parent moments, just nothing. Not even the ghosts bothered to stay; those amalgamations left with their respective families a long time ago.

And what about Flowey? What about his family?

…

…

… what family?!

As far as Flowey knew, he had seen his mother and father dead at least once, even killing them himself in some timelines, and don't even get him started on Chara (not that _he_ killed them or anything. Just don't do it.)

Once he killed everyone in the underground, just because he was bored. After that, he spent his days waiting among a field of golden flowers, wishing Chara would come back or someone would half a brain would at least come down here and go on a killing spree. That would have been great; Flowey would have watched. That's the only thing he hadn't done yet and will probably never get the chance of doing, thanks to Frisk. Before them, Flowey innocently waited to kill the poor saps who fell into this death trap. It was evident to the homicidal plant that if Chara had fallen in here at some point, others were bound to follow. He just wanted a reaction; that was all. Nothing against them, to be honest. They were going to die anyway. Just ask the six human SOULs before Frisk. When a seventh human wandered their way into the underground, Toriel managed to thwart that plan too, and guess what? They're the reason why Flowey was stuck here in the first place, feeling the way his empty being felt now.

Trapped in this poisonous mixture of despair and restlessness, he sat in the freezing dirt he was grounded in, sulking to himself and watching one of his petals fall off. Typical. Did it really matter? He wasn't even sure what he was hoping for anymore. Even Frisk, out of everyone, had left him. After everything Frisk had done for the abominable plant, that kind of hurts.

"Why," the flower mumbled hoarsely, his stem starting to shiver from the cold. "Why did you spare me?" He could feel the rage boiling in his voice. Was it to make him change his mind? Oh, that _really_ helped. No, really. Was it to make him a _good_ flower and not kill anybody? Well, that worked out brilliantly. Especially, because it was accomplished out of reluctance. At first, he thought this was what he deserved; just staying trapped down here forever. Now, it had been what seemed like an eternity. He was hoping someone would stumble in here just so he could kill them, _but nobody came._ The boredom was really taking a toll on him.

Flowey started to feel something bubble up from inside of him. He nearly startled himself with his own laughter. "You… you idiot," he roared toward the open heavens. "How dare you?! You just wanted me to suffer!" He exhaled like bull about to charge. "When I see you, I'll murder you. I'll rip away your happy ending, Frisk. Just wait until you get down here. Just wait!"

"Or maybe you could have a happy ending, yourself."

Flowey froze, the wide grin on his face kept with him. His eyes followed the path of the voice.

"…what?"

"Flowey, please listen," they spoke softly. "I'm sorry I didn't bring you back sooner. I didn't think me leaving you here would hurt you so much." Flowey swerved around and stared at him incredulously, his face flushing so hard he thought it would melt off. He wanted to wonder for how long they had been standing there, however the fire of rage coursing within his small body had other ideas.

"Say that to the bullets, you brat," yelled the vengeful plant, lining a circle of pellets shooting straight for their soul. A burst of laughter echoed throughout the vacant walls as the human was struck alive and erased from sight.

* * *

Admittedly, that had to be the best excitement the flower had received in ages. Too bad Frisk couldn't join. Oh wait, they're _dead_. That's right. Flowey was standing triumphantly, basking in his satisfaction.

"Ha," he shouted. "What an idiot. Standing there and taking it like the weakling they are. They should know better than to try and play me!" That was until his realization smacked him in the face like a mallet. Flowey's eyes widened and suddenly he was aware of the chilly gusts of wind blowing towards him. He pulled himself under and huddled in the flowerbed for warmth.

"Gr-Gr-Great," he groaned. "I forgot they have the ability to SAVE. That miserable twerp... with all that determination... They never give up. It won't be long before I find them crawling their way back over he-" the flower cut himself off, seeing the human towering over him again. The child was only a few feet further this time. They took their coat off, spreading it out with their hands.

"I had a feeling you'd try to do that," Frisk stated bluntly. "That's why I SAVEd right before coming." Flowey glared at them.

"What do you want, Frisk," Flowey growled. "Can't you see I'm happy where I am?! I don't need you. I don't need anyone."

As Frisk observed the plant, they noticed his stem couldn't stop shaking and some of his once smooth and soft petals were starting to become wrinkly. They knew the flower had started to wither, but that wouldn't stop the plant from being as feisty as ever. Frisk softened their voice. "If you let me talk, I'll give you my coat for warmth."

Flowey grumbled, but it wasn't out of anger. There weren't even any death threats, this time. He knew that if he were to kill the human again, they'd just come back. What's the point? The plant turned away and hunched over, staring at the ground. When Frisk saw that Flowey wasn't putting up a fight, they approached him with caution. The last thing they needed was to reload a second time. Sans would kill them.

They stated their defense before wrapping the coat around him. "When the monsters made it out to the surface, it made national news. There were a lot of protests and many humans were terrified. Asgore made me the ambassador on the monsters' behalf. It took Asgore and I months to restore peace between both parties. Today was the day the peace treaty was signed. I went there just before coming to visit you."

"Oh that must have been swell," he voiced sarcastically, his body coiling against the leather and fur. "As for I, I have been having the most wonderful time _**rot-ti-ting away in this futile wasteland.**_ Not that it would m-matter to you."

Frisk opened their mouth, but slowly they closed it. Flowey was right. They shouldn't have forgotten about the plant as they had. The human's posture slumped, looking at the shivering plant remorsefully. He couldn't even keep his teeth from chattering. On the other hand, seeing that while his face was contorted to those giant mandibles was pretty funny. They kept that to themself, though.

"Flowey," Frisk finally spoke. "I want to take you to the surface with me. That's why I came here." Flowey only huffed in response. "You see, it's Christmas Eve and I didn't want you to have to spend it alone." Flowey's eyes started to become animated again. He lifted an eyebrow.

"Huh? What's that? I thought you had no problem with me being left alone. What makes Christmas so special that you would suddenly change your mind?"

"Well," Frisk started. "Christmas is a time where we all gather with our families and put presents under the tree. Then we all circle around and open them. And after that, we bake cookies and then sing songs…"

"That's lame," Flowey remarked almost instantly, lifting his head up. It's started to sound like the tradition they had over in Snowdin. "Is this like in some of Alphys's old books and animes. The ones where there's a big fat man in a red suit?"

"That's the one~," Frisk clarified cheerfully. Flowey's grin began to widen until his smile became twisted and coiled.

"The one where we burn him to deeeeeath~?"

"NO! No," Frisk shouted immediately, falling back with rocking hands. "It's just a story. You can't kill him."

Flowey deflated at once. "That's even lamer." Honestly, might as well party with a bunch of talking rocks. They'd be much more entertaining than surrounding himself with a bunch of people he didn't care about, feeling things that he wasn't allowed to feel. Then again, he had the opportunity of experiencing the surface world. That didn't sound like a bad idea. It was either that, or dying. After a few minutes, Flowey heaved a long sigh.

"Flowey," Frisk called to him again. "It's not good for you to be out here."

"Fine..."

"You're going to freeze, and…"

"Fine."

"I don't want you to suffer any longer. You're my -"

"FINE!" Frisk slid away quickly as the screaming plant stood up without warning and once again put a circle of white pellets around him. Flowey bared his teeth at the child and began to scream. "Frisk, you are testing my patience. You have ten seconds to get me off the ground or I will shoot you right here, right now. Do you get me?"

Good thing Frisk came prepared. They nodded as they reached behind them and pulled out a ceramic shaped like a pot. First they showed it to the plant and when his defenses had gone down, Frisk coiled their fingers around Flowey's stem and uprooted him from the ground with one swift yank.

"Oooow…" the flower whined. "Be careful!"

"Sorry," Frisk said candidly, setting Flowey into the pot. They carefully patted the soil around him, just to make sure he was secure when they started to walk. Frisk then bent over and took the coat lying on the ground. They wrapped it around the cold flower very tenderly before standing up and heading straight for the ruins.

It was going to be a long trip from here.


	2. Chapter 2: Shake it Up

Chapter 2 (Shake it Up)

The long ride home was showered with agonizing periods of nothing but the trailing wind. Frisk would sometimes take a pause to stare at the plant, just to see if he was okay. It seemed as if Flowey was not really interested in talking. It was even more so once they had gotten past the barrier. Frisk had introduced the flower into a world that seemed to change from the last time he'd seen it. The sky was beautiful this time around as if it were splattered by an artist's paint palette. The flower had basically turned into a hungry satellite from there on, scanning left to right vigorously while the surroundings seemed to be fading all around him. However, he did at some point glance over his nonexistent shoulder, eying the child meticulously.

"So," the flower inquired. "Who do you live with now that the barrier's been broken?" Just when Frisk barely forgot that he was there or that he even had the gift of speech, there he was, sitting all cozy-like with the child's coat in the basket. They were just lucky they didn't ram their bike into anything.

"Well," the child started. "After we all left the underground, Toriel offered to take care of me. My parents passed and I didn't really have anywhere to go, so I decided to stay with her. Then she invited Sans to live with her and Papyrus came along, too." It was a big happy family; just what they had always dreamed of. Flowey didn't make a comment, though. He just kept scanning around like it was no one's business. However, that didn't mean that somewhere in the back of his mind, he was pondering over it. So if they didn't have any place, did that mean their parents were…? _Hmm…_

Flowey had no idea why Frisk would tell _him_ these things. Wasn't this the same plant that a few months ago (and even today) tried to kill them? Was this just make to him feel like he was _valuable and special_ to the child, telling Flowey their deepest secrets? _That's cute._ Ever been interrogated by a cop, Frisk?

* * *

The sun had been setting by the time the two made it home, or at least _Frisk's_ home. Frisk and co. The humble abode was like a cream puff in color, but the house itself was a basic symmetrical two-story house with windows, a small outdoor garden, a shiny red car, and… a bike? With some giant pack attached to it? It looked a lot bulkier than Frisk's bike, that's for sure. There also seemed to be these festive LED lights decorating the house. Flowey looked around and saw that the others houses seemed to be decorated the same way. He shrugged it off. They must all be from Snowdin.

The first thing that greeted Frisk and Flowey upon entering was the hallway that made beeline for the living room. There were two doors to be seen on the same side; the one closest to the front door happening to be a coat closet. Frisk took the coat and placed it in. On the opposite wall was a picture frame. In it was a picture of all of Frisk's new friends. The frame seemed to have Toriel written all over. Literally. In Sans's handwriting. Other than that, it was a pastel pink in color with white script. _One big happy family._ He fought the urge to break it, not interested in going back underground.

At the end of the hallway, the left side harnessed the nostalgically wafting scents of cinnamon and butterscotch while on the other side, things were getting a little more… _toasty._ A soft bell chimed as a certain couch potato pulled his toast from the toaster right beside him and munched on it. The soft flutters of light from the fire place illuminated his tired smile as he watched the two pass the threshold.

"hey tori, frisk is back," Sans hollered from across the room. His smile got cheekier as he inspected the plant. "and it looks they brought a friend."

' _Oh golly,'_ Flowey thought to himself. _'Not that guy.'_ Did he really have to tolerate this trashbag? When this Christmas thing was over with, he was going back underground. He didn't care if he even had to drive all the way there, himself. Just. No. So what if he had no one around and it was boring and cold down there? It sure was a lot better than being around that guy.

"Hi, Sans," Frisk greeted. "You remember Flowey, don't you?"

"sure i do," the chubby skeleton beamed. "in fact, i remember the last game we played, ' _where's flowey'_. he was very good at that one."

Frisk and Flowey furrowed their eyebrows, turning to each other as if the other knew anything about it.

"Uuuh… what does that mean," Frisk asked Sans, cocking their head to the side.

"Oh, now I remember," Flowey replied bluntly. "Someone was walking around the flower bed a while after Frisk left. That was you, wasn't it? Well unfortunately _for you_ , visiting hours were closed for the day as I was busy being underground. That must suck for you, doesn't it?"

"welp," Sans concluded. "guess that means you were busy being _grounded_." Sans winked at the flower. _Ba-dum tish!_

"SANS!" A screech came from across the room. "I CAN HEAR YOUR BAD PUNS ALL THE WAY FROM THE KITCHEN!"

"Oh, you're soooo punny," Flowey commented, rolling his eyes.

"heeey," Sans encouraged. "that's the spirit." The frowning plant turned to Frisk.

"Kill me."

"Come on, Flowey," Frisk comforted. "Let's go see Toriel and Papyrus. They'd love to see you."

"Oh, I bet they would."

Ignoring Flowey's comment, Frisk carried the pot off to the kitchen, where Toriel and Papyrus were preparing dinner. Toriel was working over the counter while Papyrus was by the stove. Toriel happened to be the first to notice them.

"Hello, my child," Toriel welcomed warmly. Then she noticed Flowey wiggling in place. "Frisk, who is this you've brought home?"

"Howdy," Flowey chirped. "I'm Flowey the flower!" A clash was heard from behind Toriel and all of them jumped. Papyrus swerved around ecstatically.

"FLOWEY?"

"That's me~!"

"IS THAT YOU? OH MY GOSH," Papyrus exclaimed, scooping the plant from Frisk's arms and bringing him into a tight hug. "IT HAS BEEN SO LONG SINCE I HAVE SEEN YOU THAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAD GROWN WORRIED!"

"Well, worry no more," Flowey replied in the same manner as he wiggled his stem. "Your president of the new Flowey Fan Club has arrived."

"Flowey is going to be spending Christmas with us," Frisk added. "And hopefully after that, he might even stay."

"OOOOH~" the skeleton piped. "I'M GOING TO NEED MORE NOODLES!"

* * *

It wasn't long before Undyne and Alphys showed up and everyone gathered around for dinner. Once they had seated and received their meal, Toriel spoke up first. Mainly because of a certain someone's cellphone.

"Alphys," the monster addressed, knocking on the table. The yellow monster looked up from her lap. "Your phone." Recently, Toriel had become more observant of children, particularly with their cellphones. They would use those things everywhere, even in class. Alphys flustered, fidgeting with her hands just to set the phone down.

"S-sorry," she uttered softly, sinking into her chair.

It had been a long time since Frisk had a big dinner like this with their surrogate family again. They had one several months prior, but it's never been this intimate before. The last one was week after the barrier had been broken with almost every monster at the gathering. It was so difficult just to socialize with them all.

Fortunately, things were different this time around; Frisk was surrounded by the friends who mattered to them the most. They even got Flowey to join, despite what everyone said. He also seemed to be in bad health, but that didn't stop Frisk. In the time Flowey had been here, Frisk tried to take as best care of the plant as they knew how. They tried to do everything from how they'd seen Toriel do it: they put in fresh soil, watered him. They even put a big red bow on the flower, just for the occasion. Flowey didn't mind. As a matter of fact, it made him feel as if he were the center of attention. That was until Papyrus started making some _alterations…_

"Papyrus," Flowey shouted. "Stop putting ugly stickers on my pot!"

"SORRY, FLOWEY," the tall skeleton replied, swiftly sliding his through the packs of stickers. "THERE MIGHT BE SOME NICE SKELETAL STICKERS HERE IN CASE YOU'RE FEELING… BONEY~. NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEEEEH!"

"Oh brother," Undyne groaned, her head leaning against her palm. "Do you really have to rub off on him, Sans? …Sa- hey, quit that!" The former captain of the Royal Guard snapped her head at the shorter skeleton, her eye narrowing into slits.

"i'd hate to rub you the wrong way undyne, but i'm only pulling your leg."

"Actually, the dog is pulling my leg," Undyne stated flatly as both of them looked to find a little white dog yanking on her tightly worn pants. The fish woman impaled the meatballs on her plate violently with her spear and tossed it near the mutt. "Get out of here." The dog scrapped the meatballs into its mouth and scurried out of the room.

"heheheh," Sans laughed. "talk about no balls."

"That's right, Sans," Undyne quipped as she polished her spear. "Keep talking."

"Now now," Toriel hushed. "Let's try to contain ourselves. After all, we wouldn't want to have ourselves a _hot mess_." _Ba-dum tish!_ Flowey pulled out his fangs, but only Frisk seemed to notice.

"Please stop."

"Hey, Mom," Frisk spoke in an effort to stop the waves of bad humor. "Where's King Asgore?" Toriel looked away. Obviously that was not a wise way of steering the conversation.

"Asgore isn't king anymore, sweetie," Toriel corrected. "Remember?" Frisk looked down and nodded.

"But I like Asgore…" Frisk sighed disappointedly. "What about Mettaton, Dr. Alphys?"

"Mettaton," Alphys reiterated in surprise. "M-Mettaton has been busy over the last few months, Frisk. P-people really liked him and Blooky and… and they got their own show together. They a-actually had somewhere important to be, tonight, i-if I'm not mistaken."

"They're at another party," Undyne said bluntly.

"HEY FLOWEY," Papyrus asked, taking Flowey's focus off the others. "WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THOSE BEAUTIFUL PETALS? WHY SOME OF THEM ARE FALLING STRAIGHT OFF OF YOUR BODY."

"I'm shedding," the flower quickly deadpanned. He turned to the skeleton once he could no longer see his shadow over him. "What? Don't look at me like that. Haven't you seen a flower shed, before?" Papyrus was about half way into speaking when Undyne interrupted.

"Hey Papyrus, what did you put in this sauce? It tastes awful!"

"I'M GLAD YOU ASKED, UNDYNE," Papyrus boasted, standing to his feet. "WHY THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAD ONLY USED THE MOST GOURMET OF INGREDIENTS: FRESH TOMATOES, CHOPPED PEPPERS, A LITTLE BIT OF OLD SPICE, AND…"

"woooah, wait just a second here," Sans stopped. "do you mean old spice or _old spice_?" Sans winked at the skeleton.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, SANS," Papyrus barked. "IT'S OLD! SPICE! THE SPICE I FOUND SITTING IN THE CABINET. WHAT OTHER SPICE COULD I HAVE USED?"

"Gee, I don't know," Flowey said sarcastically. "Maybe _new spice_?" Who would want to use old spice for _anything_? It's old and it makes everything taste bland and boring. What was he thinking? Undyne narrowed her eye skeptically at Papyrus.

"No… _no_ …" Undyne shook her head. "That couldn't have possibly been a spice."

"A-actually," Alphys added. "i-it kinda tastes a little bit more like a… a _base_ _ **.**_ "

With a loud cry from the chair, Papyrus jolted back and marched straight for the kitchen. "FINE," Papyrus exclaimed. "YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT I USED?" The skeleton stormed over and slammed the questionable ingredient right by the flower pot, the flower nearly jolting at a container that must be twice his size. Definitely not a spice. "I USED THIS, OKAY?" What came next was a chorus of commotion:

"That's body wash!"

"Eeeeeeew!"

"What the hell, Papyrus?!"

"heheheheheh!"

"Oh Papyrus. Oh dear."

"Oh no…"

"Also," Undyne began on another note as she began picking at her spaghetti. "Your spaghetti is cold, buuut I could always scrapped off the sauce and heat up the noodles. Excuse me."

"No," Frisk cried. "Wait, Undyne!"

"WHO WANTS PIZZA?!" Toriel shouted out of the blue. Everyone quieted down, turning their heads toward the outbursting cow. All except Flowey, who hunched over and sighed.

"I'm surrounded by idiots."

* * *

An hour had passed when Flowey found himself sitting on an oaken coffee table, watching an old Christmas movie. It was about a green monster who went around stealing people's presents and decorations and stuff. It really seemed to speak to him. Beside Flowey was Frisk, who was munching away on the last of their pizza like a dog eating their favorite treat, and to the right of both of them stood a bowl full of small variously shaped candies. They seemed to have a similar red and green colored aluminum wrapped around them.

Frisk eventually eyed Flowey in the sickly silhouette he was making. He didn't seem to talk much at dinner and refused to eat once the pizza came. Now he was drooping over, going in and out of absent-mindedness. This didn't discourage Frisk, though. Bringing him here was a success within itself, but Flowey was sick. That, and they weren't sure if they could trust him if he were ever left alone. Thank goodness he hasn't killed anybody… yet. The moment the plant moved did Frisk seize the opportunity to push his pot slightly towards the fireplace and make conversation with him.

"I like your stickers." Flowey huffed, turning his head away from the child. Frisk tried again. "Thank you for not hurting anyone else." He chuckled.

"I wouldn't push my luck, if I were you," he snapped, revealing those hideous fangs. "It's been a loooong time since I've killed somebody and killing you _really_ made my day. Don't try to make it even better for me."

Frisk tuned their ear and could hear their friends laughing within the light of the other room. They had fought for so much… all of them. Frisk felt as if the flower was constricting their airway, filling it with heat. It became hell to swallow. Yes, they could SAVE, but these were their friends. Toriel had to be the most nurturing mother they've ever had and who could go a day without hearing one of Sans's bad puns? Papyrus was like a brother and Undyne was like a sister to them. Alphys was really great with computers and Asgore…? Frisk didn't really know much about Asgore, except that he had a good heart towards others, even those who weren't even his people. He even tried to start a family with the human, a sworn enemy. They didn't know what they'd do if the day ever came that they found their friends' dust laying all over the ground. Even a tear slashed across someone's body was like a tear slashed across theirs.

"Aren't you hungry," Frisk asked, hoping they could change the subject. "We have some candy, if you'd like any." Do flowers even eat candy? Only one way to find out. Briskly, the child jumped up and snatched the first piece of candy they got their hands on. They tore at it and pulled at the aluminum until a creamy chocolatey nugget was nicely set before the pot. Flowey eyed chocolate questioningly before eying the child.

"Actually, I'm rather parched," the flower smiled. "The underground isn't known for getting much rain in the winter months, you know."

Frisk nodded fervently, making a mad dash for the watering can. However, this did leave the plant in question completely alone…

Guess it would be a good time to look around. Flowey grabbed the chocolate with his mouth before studying the room. The only thing brighter than the mellow fire place was the decorated tree nearby. Sitting in the corner was a similar tree to the he'd seen in Snowdin; it had shiny colored ornarments and rainbow LED lights. Was that a picture of spaghetti he saw, in the shape of a heart? Also, the top of the tree had a pair of sunglasses. Good ol' Papyrus… Who knew they missed the tree from Swondin so much.

Near the tree's stump consisted of multi-colored presents either laced with ribbons or bows. Flowey would have bothered to look, but he didn't have any arms. That, and he wouldn't be caught dead emulating that sorry excuse for a bear snooping through everyone's presents, anyway. Flowey knew he wasn't getting anything. Who would give _him_ anything? He was thrown into this so haphazardly that it probably never crossed anyone's mind. As far as the flower was concerned, fresh water, a warm fire, and a big bowl of chocolate was gift enough for him. _Maybe he could have a second chocolate…_

Soon the flower had been thrown off as Sans was the first to appear by the tree, seemingly out of nowhere. Everyone came shortly after. Most of them sat around Sans, who was the furthest away from the flower. That didn't stop Flowey from eavesdropping, though. Some of them were talking about the peace treaty Frisk previously talked about.

"I don't think it's going to change much," Undyne spat, crossing her arms.

"W-well I don't think chasing humans with a spear when you don't get your way is going to change much either," Alphys pointed out in return. Undyne nearly burst out laughing.

"Seriously, what else are you supposed to do with humans," Flowey snickered. "Don't they chase you with spears in return? I bet they do~." Undyne frowned.

"Actually, no. They don't."

"Then again, all the humans she ch-chases are all Fr-Frisk's height."

"They don't fight like Frisk, though. Fuhuhu- _ow_." With a slight wince, Undyne rubbed her shoulder.

It took several minutes before Toriel and Frisk finally came in. Frisk was waddling around with a neutral blue watering can that happened to be twice their size. The flower could barely see their face peeking out behind it. Flowey smirked. All this over little ol' him? How flattering.

"Sorry it took so long," Frisk grunted, nearly stumbling over their own feet just to water Flowey. Toriel had to hold them just to make sure they didn't topple over. The freezing water they used stung the flower's stem, but his roots were sucking it up like rabid dogs. It tasted so good…

"Oh dear," Toriel uttered to herself as she stared at an empty and candy bowl with ripped up wrappers scattered around. "Sans, did you eat all the chocolate?" Flowey belched and Frisk took a mental note of it. The flower's posture started to come back to the way Frisk originally remembered it and he seemed much more attentive, now. That was a start. Meanwhile Undyne was growing restless by the second. She impulsively jumped to her feet.

"Guys are we all here? Good, because this is taking too long! I want to open the presents NOW!" Undyne was about to raid the tree and lift it up when Alphys grabbed her wrist tightly, urging her sit back down again. Frisk placed Flowey on their lap as Sans innocuously stacked through the gifts. He kept sliding other gifts aside until he picked up a moderately sized box with… word search wrapping paper. _Of course_.

"hey bro," Sans addressed, his smile becoming more cheeky. "got this for you." He put the box on Papyrus's lap.

"OH NO," Papyrus shook his head. "I KNOW WHAT'S IN HERE AND YOU WON'T FOOL ME AGAIN, BROTHER." He shoved the box onto Undyne's lap. "HERE, UNDYNE. YOU'RE EAGER TO OPEN PRESENTS. YOU SHOULD OPEN THIS ONE."

"Hold it," Undyne barked. "You're inferring that this could be something bad."

"UH-HUH."

"And you're asking _me_ to open it?"

"…UH-HUH!"

Undyne stared at the skeleton.

"…REALLY!?" Undyne blared. Impatiently, she ripped through the paper.

"I-IT WON'T BE SO BAD, UNDYNE," Papyrus stuttered. "JUST TRUST ME." Once the box was stripped, the fish woman smacked the box against her nose and sniffed it. Suddenly, she leaned back and laughed.

"Fuhuhu~. Okay, Papyrus. Whatever you say~." Papyrus took cover, expecting the worst, but Undyne simply opened the box and marveled. "Oh Sans, you shouldn't have. I could've always used some new battle armor~."

"WHAT!?" Papyrus screeched. Immediately he yanked the box from her. "GIVE ME THAT!" And behold, Undyne wasn't kidding; inside was a set of well-polished armor. It was real armor too, not like the battle suit he wore every day. It almost looked just like Undyne's. "OH SANS, YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE!" Papyrus giggled like a young child, lifting the breastplate against himself with admiration. Someone pinch him; there's no way this could be real. "OH SANS!" The skeleton hugged his brother. "WHAT EVER COULD I DO TO REPAY YOU?"

"just a second there, brother," Sans winked, holding up another box. "you're missing the helmet."

"OH MY GOSH!" The taller skeleton was beyond thrilled by this point. Giddily, Papyrus tore through the paper. He didn't even think twice when a mess of cream and cherry came hurdling toward his face. _SPLAT!_

"here you go," Sans said cheerfully, holding up the helmet which had nothing to it but a pasted bow all along. " _pie_ bet you didn't expect that."

"Oh Sans," Papyrus said flatly. "You shouldn't have." Undyne roughly scrapped her finger against the skeleton's face and popped it into her mouth.

"Fuhuhu~," she nudged. "Looking great there, eh Pa _pie_ rus?" _BA-DUM TISH!_ Papyrus excused himself to dry off.

* * *

Most of the night went in a similar fashion, mainly with Sans. It got even better once he got a trombone. Flowey thought Papyrus was going to throttle the shorter skeleton by the end of the night. Boy, would that have been a good time! The others got other mundane things, like Alphys's anime gift to Undyne about two girls from different countries. That sounded boring. The anime Undyne got for Alphys was much better. It was dark and had a blond vampire on the cover. That must have been the most interesting thing Flowey had seen all night.

Toriel got some new gardening tools and kitchen ware, including seeds and fertilizer, Alphys got some manga, Papyrus got an apron, and Frisk got some new clothes. That was including this ugly sweater sown together with red and green yarn. That must have been Toriel's doing. Not because it had her name written all over it this time, but because Flowey knew the way she sows. It looked like her sowing.

Towards the end of the gift exchanging, the others gave their farewells to Frisk as they climbed upstairs to their room, taking the weary plant and their gifts with them. Frisk's room looked pretty basic. There was a bed, a dresser, all that fun jazz and whatnot. It's lame. Frisk delicately took the bow off and propped the flower by the window sill while they sorted through their clothes.

"How did you like Christmas," the child asked. Flowey looked out the window, his gaze set toward the mountain near the horizon.

"At least they're happy," Flowey said dully.

"Yeah, they are," Frisk spoke almost in complete juxtaposition. "I'm especially proud of Sans. He's been looking much livelier, now." Flowey rolled his eyes.

"Good for him."

Frisk became quiet again, preoccupying themself with hanging their clothes into the closet while stuffing others into the dresser. Eventually they tried again. "Um… are you feeling any better, Flowey?"

"Fine."

Frisk sighed. They stayed determined, however. Maybe it was just a bad time. Frisk sorted through the rest of their gifts, putting them in various places until they decided to crawl into bed. By that time, Toriel had come to say goodnight to the child and sat by their bedside.

"Are you tired," she cooed.

"Mm-hm," the child yawned. Flowey snorted, keeping his head turned away.

"I'm very proud of you," Toriel smiled. "I think Asgore made the right choice by making you our ambassador. However, this is only one step. Keep staying determined."

"I wish Asgore came to spend Christmas with us," Frisk whined, turning their head and smiling at Toriel. The motherly monster pat their head.

"Well, maybe next year," she said dismissively. With one soft stroke, Toriel bent over and kissed the child on their head. "Good night, my child."

"Good night, Mama," Frisk yawned again. Toriel tucked them in and silently left the room. It wasn't even a second after the door shut that Flowey started taunting the human.

"BLEGH," he spat disgustedly. "You two are so nasty together. I thought if she stayed here a moment longer that I was going to hurl!"

Frisk tightened the covers over themself and sighed. They knew he couldn't have meant that. Not when Frisk knew the truth. The child turned over to see Flowey droop even more than usual. They couldn't make out his face, but they knew he needed some cheering up. Frisk reached over and began pulling something from under their bed.

"Frisk…" the oblivious flower sighed. "What was going through your mind when…"

"Flowey," Frisk interrupted. They kneeled and put a small box in front of the plant. "Look what I found." Flowey stared at them and then at the box before him. Frisk could start to see the lights shining from his dull and dark eyes. It filled them with DETERMINATION. They lift up the top of the box. "For you."

At the blink of an eye, Flowey straightened himself and nearly gasped. He leaned in closer for further inspection.

"Where did you… find this," the flower inquired. "That's not yours."

"Well," Frisk started, scratching the back of their head. "I was trying to find King Asgore and I was curious. I looked inside a bedroom and found some boxes. This was in one of them. I think this would mean more to you than to me. Here, I'll put it on you."

"No," Flowey snapped. "Allow me." Within the stillness of the night, two vines poked through the soil and danced their way over to the box. They pulled on the gift's ends and wrapped it around the pot. Frisk tried to extend a hand to help him tie it, but one of the vines smacked it away. At last, Flowey gave a sigh of relief as Frisk looked at the locket and the vines adjusted it into place. The dark and thin silhouettes caressed its outer lining, but shined boldly from the pot like the small nostalgic smile creeping onto Flowey's face.

"Right where it belongs," the flower whispered almost monotone-like. He stroked the golden locket one more time before coiling around the chains. He could practically feel it beating. "Thanks, Frisk." Flowey's sudden tone threw the child off, but they grinned at the plant, believing that he meant well.

"I knew you'd like it~," Frisk chirped. Then a yawn seemed to take over them again, and this time for good. The human didn't know how much more they could take before all the events of today weighed and buried them alive. Frisk collapsed onto the bed and tucked themself in. They barely had enough time to mumble something out before sleep overcame them. "Good night, Flowey."

"Night," Flowey responded, that odd monotone sound creeping out once again.

* * *

Hours passed and all Flowey could feel and all Flowey could focus on was that locket. If he had a heart, that heart and this very heart wrapped around him would be beating as one. The vines were like veins pumping blood into his nonexistent soul. He gazed at the sky, then to the sleeping child, and then his locket again. Or, respectively, _Chara's_ locket.

"Someday, Chara," Flowey cooed to himself. Frisk shifted positions, still asleep. Flowey merely took a glance. "Someday we'll meet each other again."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys! It's been a very long time since I've written fanfics, but I'm very excited about this one. I'm actually really surprised by how long this particular chapter is so I'm really curious about what you guys think. Maybe I went to overboard with the jokes, I dunno. I wanted to start light hearted. Anyway, there probably won't be another chapter put up for at least a week due to business I need to take care of. I also wanted to say that about the exchange between Papyrus and Flowey where the dialogue sounds backwards (if you still remember), that was a Tommy Wiseau reference. Because ~***

 **Blessings~!**


	3. Chapter 3: Steel Tortoise

Chapter 3 (Steel Tortoise)

It had taken two weeks for all the festivities to die down.

When Monday happened, all those days of warmth and family bonding were gone. Just like that. Like normal for the family, Frisk and Toriel were getting ready to go to school. Both of them had an ample amount of time, considering that not even the dawn wanted to croak yet, but Toriel was already bellowing as if they were running late. As those sounds echoed into the flower's ears, Flowey remembered those days with a bitter-sweet aftertaste. Guess there were some perks to being a flower, after all.

"Slow down, Frisk," Toriel warned the child. "If you keep eating your cereal like that, you will choke." Frisk hacked a few times, but the experienced mother had already been prepared for this impending calamity. Gently lifting their head, Toriel gave them a soothing glass of water. "Drink up, my child. I think you have had more than enough cereal for today."

"hey tori…" Sans mumbled as he abruptly staggered into the room. He stretched, cracking a few of his joints into place as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "monday already?"

"You bet," Toriel beamed, setting her glass beside the child. She sighed happily. "Do you not just _love_ Mondays?" The skeleton's pupils shrunk a little.

"oh… _sure_ …" Sans responded subtly, his smile becoming more weary than usual. _Every. Day._ "a great day for sleeping in, right frisk?" He winked at the child, whom was preoccupied with Toriel wiping their face. Through the fibers assaulting their mouth, Frisk managed to free their tongue enough to stick it out. The skeleton had to chuckle. Then Toriel's posture began to shift a little.

"Oh and Sans," Toriel addressed with that natural motherly tone she always seemed to carry. Sometimes it never really seemed to leave her. The skeleton's eyes centered on the boss monster. "We need to talk."

"sure tori," Sans shrugged, pulling out a pair of fake rubbery human ears and sticking them near his temples. "i'm all ears." Frisk nearly spat out their cereal, milk oozing from their mouth again. The boss monster sighed, cleaning the child's face once more. She addressed Sans again.

"It is about Flowey." The air froze. Silence creeped its way into the room and it became quiet. Sans centered on Toriel again, shoving the ears back into his pockets. His smile went vacant.

"uh, okay," Sans yawned dismissively as he stretched and cracked his joints with emphasis. "you can always call me during lunch, tori. you know my number. i'll be here all w-"

"No, Sans," the mother protested. Toriel rose to her feet, slamming her foot down. "You get back here, Mister. We are doing this right here, right now." She gave the skeleton a long hard scowl, crossing her arms. Like a reluctant noodle, the skeleton squirmed, groaning to himself.

"oh my gosh." Sans's gaze shifted over to the kid. "frisk, you might want to get dressed for this one. this might not end well." He wasn't implying that anybody was going to die or anything. As a matter of fact, if anything at all, Sans was implying the _he himself_ may be having a bad time. If there was a lesson that he learned about women over time, it's that they could smell fear; just ask Papyrus and Undyne.

Of course in the wake of an impending beat down, the kid sat there, defiantly crossing their arms. The skeleton couldn't blame them, but this was one performance he did not want them to see. "yeah, that's right," Sans affirmed. "tori and i have to do some grown up talk. i'll wait till you go." Once Toriel had finished drying their face for the second time, Frisk jumped out of their seat. With a harrumph, they marched past her and the skeleton, storming to their room with a sour pout on their face. Both monsters waited for the door to slam before they started to bicker among themselves. Toriel got on her knees, leveling herself with the shorter skeleton.

"You are watching over Flowey," Toriel declared bluntly, folding her arms. "And I want you to promise that you will take care of him while I am gone." Sans shut his eyes and sighed. Why did he know she was going to go there?

"dang, tori," Sans breathed solemnly, still keeping his smile. "after everything i told you. after everything frisk told you, you seem pretty keen on giving him a second chance…" Alphys had been among them as well. The plant was a vessel of pure determination. He was a being with the power to reshape the world by desire alone. The power of a god. It's not really the kind of toy you want to give to your child. Especially when said _child_ had no SOUL.

"Well um… your brother seems eager to help," the boss monster pointed out. She put her furry hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "And you already know Frisk. Both of them really believe that Flowey can change and he has been behaving awfully well as of late. Do you think he has changed?"

Sans shrugged. "hey, what can i say? can't bite the hand that feeds you."

"Regardless, if Flowey does anything, you come and tell me and I will reprimand him. Understand? You do not need to do a thing." With a motherly tenderness, Toriel kneaded her fingers into Sans's scapula.

The tension in Sans's body began to melt into her fingers. The skeleton's eyes drooped. "I'll be honest with you…i don't really think this is a good idea."

"Let us give him a chance, though. Give it some time. He has already started to warm up to someone other than Frisk. Maybe all he needs is love."

Sans couldn't help but chuckle. "oh no, tori. the kid's got more than enough of that!"

"Please Sans, I am serious now. I want to give him a second chance. Do you not think people like him deserve a second chance?" Sans closed his eyes.

"you tell that to asgore."

Toriel's hands fled from his bones as she glared down on him. "Watch it."

"just saying," Sans shrugged. "although asgore is much more deserving than that weed." Toriel gasped.

"Sans," Toriel growled. "How could you compare that flower to that… that _monster_?!" Sans sighed. Man, did he really not want to be here.

"tori…" Sans began, turning away from her. "something makes me think… you really don't want to see what's going on."

If he could open his eyes again, maybe he'd be dreaming or maybe she'd come to her senses, but no; all he got was a body full of fur and a giant scowl to go with it. Briefly, he wondered if going to Grillby's so early in the day was an option. He shifted his eyes.

"you… you sure you want this?" His eyes raced to meet hers. Toriel always knew the skeleton had a great smile, but if she looked just above that, it would speak more monologues than any monster could speak in their lifetime. Toriel smiled, gently bringing his cold hands into her warm chest. She nodded.

"I do not know why, but I feel as if we should give him a chance. That and it is not right to leave him in the cold in his current condition. Most flowers do not fare well during this time of year."

The skeleton rolled his shoulders back, cracking a few joints. "kay."

"Sans, do you promise me?"

Sans closed his eyes again, letting time pass for a few moments before lifting his shoulders.

"fine," he sighed. "for you, but um… don't be surprised if one day you find him in the freezer."

"Sans!"

"just saying. frisk may have been entertaining him all this time, but honestly, who knows what kind of trouble he'll cause while you're all away?"

* * *

"OOOOOH FLOWEEEEY~" Papyrus cooed, twirling into Frisk's room like a ballerina. "ARE YOU BORED? FEAR NOT, FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE COME WITH PUZZLES!" It had been several hours since Toriel and Frisk left and Sans was still at Grillby's. How anyone could want burgers and fries at this hour was beyond his realm of understanding. Now, he was wide awake and alone with no one to play with… except for Flowey, of course! The skeleton thought the poor flower had missed his wonderful presence to death. After all, who wouldn't? Who could miss his expertly crafted spaghetti and strategic puzzles?

After breezing through the shower and scooping up breakfast for himself, the Great Papyrus made it first priority to spend time with one of his best friends. And Flowey was so happy to see him, too! He was so happy that… he was asleep. With all those moments of anticipation and shoving the puzzle box within Flowey's face, all the skeleton got in return was a snore.

Papyrus lowered the box to find the half-wilted flower hunched over, facing the window. He couldn't make out his face, but his head would lift itself up from time to time as he breathed. The skeleton sweated, feeling a heat rising behind his neck.

"OH, NYEH HEH..." the skeleton whispered, scratching behind his head. "FLOWERS MUST NEED MORE SLEEP THAN SKELETONS DO… I SHALL LEAVE YOU TO REST, THEN." With small pings reminiscent of a xylophone, Papyrus tiptoed out of the room and zoomed away once he got past the threshold. Meanwhile, Flowey waited for the silence to set in before he sighed in relief. Flowey could have spent time with Papyrus. He was the most tolerable of everyone, but he was really not feeling up to it, right now. Sorry. Instead, the flower decided to go by the great teachings of Napstablook and avoid interaction with everyone altogether; the flower 'slept'.

Hours seemed to slip past him and it seemed as if the higher the sun got, the colder it became. It was like the windows were a feeble barrier compared to the raging cold of the outside world. Flowey tried to resist, but nothing could stop his involuntary shaking. It became even worse when his blanket fell on the floor. It was his only source of protection and he had no hands to pick it up with. Flowey grumbled to himself. How long was a school day? What time was it even? Augh, the sun burns! Since living on the surface, Flowey couldn't even look outside without hissing at it first, as if his threatening fangs would make the sun's agonizing light retreat or something. The flower kept his eyes shut. At least it made him feel better that nobody was looking… or even around.

…why was he even _here_? This Christmas thing was already over. Weren't they going to bring him back to the Underground or something? Flowey pondered these things to himself as he tuned his focus to the locket. _Chara_ _'_ _s locket._ How did Frisk even find this? Oh wait, dad left it in a box over in his old room all these years. It still amazed him how Asgore was the only one to actually _preserve his belongings all this time_. Flowey snorted at the thought. Frisk was such a nosy kid. Prying into things that didn't belong to them. However, their nosiness did them good… this time around. The locket really seemed to take his mind off of the cold, even if it was for a little while.

Eventually, Flowey lifted up an eye. Light was already flooding into his cornea. He shut it quickly. "Urgh, come on, Flowey," he mumbled to himself. "You should be used to this by now. Stop being such a baby." The sun is such a pain. Back in the underground, the sun was only this painful whenever it passed the hole in the middle of the day. At that point, all Flowey could do was stare at the ground because all that was above him was nothing but blinding. Flowey tried again. Once he assured himself that he wasn't dying or having his eye balls melt into an oblivion, Flowey opened the other eye, blinking several times. "Well that wasn't so bad," he smiled.

Looking through the glass, Flowey could see that the world outside definitely looked like Snowdin, except – you know – more modern and suburban. The roofs were covered in snow and the trees were barren. He saw some birds perching themselves on the branches, but then they flew off. Flowey groaned tiredly. Might as well put him back in the underground. The plant hunched over, scanning the world below him. It was just more snow. _Guh…_ but what was that thing down there? It was small, black, and oddly shaped. It kinda looked like an animal. Flowey mushed his face against the glass, inspecting the silhouette further. It seemed to be an oval shaped body with two half-moon strips. Was that a bird?

It was weird though, because there were these smaller black things enclosed around, flying and hopping all over it. "Hey Chara," Flowey spoke to the locket. "Take a look at that dead bird, over there! What a masochist. Having bugs eat it alive. What was it thinking?" Flowey laughed to himself. Was it even alive? Heck if he knew! Everything Flowey ever killed in the Underground turned into dust. For all he knew, it was probably still alive. The flower thought to himself over whether the bird was made out of water like humans or not. He would have offered to put the bird out of its misery himself, but no; it had to take the painful route out. "Haha! What an idiot."

Just as Flowey popped his face off the window like a suction cup, a rhythmic sound of footsteps tapped against his nonexistent ears. Instantly, he drooped.

"FLOWEY~," the upbeat skeleton chirped. "SURELY YOU MUST BE AROUSED BY NOW. YOU CAN'T STAY ASLEEP FOREVER!" The flower smirked slightly.

 _Try me._

"OH FLOWEY~" Papyrus tried to coax again, his head appearing past the door frame. "ARE YOU AWAKE NOW?" He smiled eagerly for a moment. The flower looked seemingly asleep. The skeleton's face deflated. "I… I GUESS NOT." The skeleton sweated again and tapped his chin. "HMM…" Papyrus hummed. "SLEEPING ALL NIGHT AND ALL DAY? FLOWERS CAN'T POSSIBLY SLEEP THIS LONG, EVEN IF THEY'RE NOT SKELETONS. MAYBE HE'S SICKER THAN I THOUGHT" Some petals were starting to grow back, but nowhere near as quickly as he imagined.

Papyrus approached the plant, poking at the back of his head vehemently. "COME ON, FLOWEY," he whined. "PLEASE, YOU'RE TURNING INTO SANS!" Then the skeleton noticed that Flowey's stem was shaking. It had stiffened slightly, as Flowey was trying to get it to stop, but he couldn't help himself. His stem trembled intensely, desperate for any kind of warmth.

"Guuurh…" a gurgle choked its way out of Flowey. Papyrus drew himself back.

"FLOWEY?" Another - more tentative - poke, and Flowey couldn't fight it anymore. The plant spun around and faced him with squinted and blinking eyes. He groaned.

"Uuuugh… it's too c-c-cold!" Suddenly, Papyrus leaped into the air.

"FLOWEY!" Papyrus exploded. "YOU'RE ALIVE!" With a swoop, the skeleton snatched the flowerpot into a tight and loving hug, but the flower tried to pull away.

"Too tight, too tight! Petals!" Flowey could barely choke out his words, as the skeleton had his radial bone pressing up against his stem. The flower yanked harder. "Flowers are fragile, remember?"

"OH THAT'S RIGHT," the skeleton corrected himself by changing positions, his other set of metacarpals and phalanges wrapping themselves around the pot. Papyrus smiled softly at the flower. "FORGIVE ME, FLOWEY. I WOULD NEVER WANT TO HURT A FRIEND." Keeping the flower in hand, he squatted down, picking up Flowey's blanket from the floor. "THIS ROOM IS INDEED FREEZING," he observed. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHOULD HAVE KNOWN. COME DEAR FRIEND, I SHALL TAKE YOU SOMEWHERE WHERE IT IS WARM. I SHALL EVEN MAKE YOU HOT CHOCOLATE!" The flower didn't even grumble as Papyrus wrapped the small cloth that was his blanket around him and carried him out of the room.

* * *

"Do I have to," Flowey whined childishly. He was sitting on a table where he had a clear view of the fireplace and the warmth steaming from it. The flower found it rather comforting compared to the harsh winter air, but it would be even better if there wasn't a pile of _trash_ laying beside him. Look at it; it's snoring. There was something that didn't sound like a snore, though. Flowey took a whiff of the air and cringed. He swore to himself that Papyrus's brother was just out to get him. He glared at the bag of bones and pointed at him with a leaf. "Why HIM?"

"NOW, FLOWEY," Papyrus pacified. "JUDGING FROM YOUR RATHER… POOR SLEEPING HABITS, I DON'T APPROVE OF YOU BEING NEAR SANS."

"I don't approve of me being near Sans, either."

"WELL I WON'T KEEP YOU FOR LONG. AS YOUR CARETAKER WHILE FRISK IS AWAY, THE GREAT PAPYRUS MUST MAKE SURE YOU ARE IN GOOD HEALTH. THIS TABLE HERE WILL KEEP YOU WARM AND TOASTY."

"Doesn't help that you moved his toaster in order to put me here," Flowey mumbled. "I HOPE that wasn't a pun, by the way."

"OH HEAVENS NO," Papyrus shouted. "I ONLY PUT YOU HERE BECAUSE IT IS CLOSEST TO THE FIRE. ANYWAY, THE MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS SHALL PREPARE YOUR DRINK. WOULD I SATIFY YOU WITH A HOT CHO-CO-LAT?" The skeleton wiggled his nonexistent eyebrows, but Flowey curled his fangs in response.

"How about a nice warm _SOUL_?" The flower asked teasingly.

"ALRIGHTY THEN, ONE REFRESHING HOT CHOCOLATE COMING UP~!" With his unwavering spirit, the Great Papyrus frolicked into the kitchen and with that, a certain skeleton and Flowey were left alone.

Flowey always did admire the way Papyrus was able to shake off anything. Well… almost anything. A time flashed through his mind where the skeleton's bones weren't as big as he made them out to be. As a matter of fact, they were actually quite fragile. And the flower loved to hear them _break…_

" _FLOWEY, STOP PLEASE,"_ _Flowey could hear the skeleton screamed. His eyes envisioned the agony in the skeleton_ _'_ _s eyes as his vines pulled hard against his bones._ _"THIS HURTS!"_

" _You want to be in the Royal Guard, don_ _'_ _t you_ _ **friend~?**_ _" Flowey_ _'_ _s voice was playful at first, yet easily able to plow into dark extremes._ _"_ _This is the fate of the Royal Guard, Papyrus. The fate of all who join! You must be able to stand and stare death right in the face._ _ **You must be willing to die!**_ _"_ _It was all fun for a while. Watching his reactions. Watching him squirm and beg for mercy and get none._

 _Flowey never forgot the time he found Papyrus gazing over a pit of lava below him. From time to time, he found him standing over it only to walk away. One day, Flowey went to Snowdin for their usual training. It almost seemed out of the blue when he said:_

" _FLOWEY… IT_ _'_ _S NOT WORTH IT… I_ _'_ _M NOT GOOD ENOUGH…"_

" _Of course you are, friend. If we train a little more, you_ _'_ _ll-"_

" _NO, I_ _'_ _M NOT DOING THIS ANYMORE. I_ _'_ _M GOING…"_

" _Oh, and where do you think you_ _'_ _re going, best friend~? I shouldn_ _'_ _t even call you that, now! If you were really my best friend, you wouldn_ _'_ _t leave me like this!_ _"_

" _WELL TOO BAD. I_ _'_ _M GOING TO THE HOTLANDS AND YOU CAN_ _'_ _T STOP ME."_

" _And what are you going to do there, huh? Are you going there to see your precious boyfriend?_ _"_

" _NO. I_ _'_ _M GOING THERE TO DIE._ _"_

 _It was at that moment that Flowey sunk into his chew toy way too far and broke him_ _…_

A curdling sound reverberated through Flowey's nonexistent ears. His leaves were getting heavier on one side. Then something began to run underneath his nose. Flowey knew what was going on, though. Flowey flung the heavy leaf in the offending direction.

"Nice try," Flowey taunted, lifting himself up. The culprit in mind was covered in whipped cream, staring at the flower with that vacant smile of his. "I wasn't sleeping, you bonehead."

Sans seemed to be enjoying himself though, nonchalantly scooping the white goop up in his phalanges and bringing it up to his mouth. "that's okay," the shorter skeleton replied. "i love whipped cream."

"Yeah? And I like mushing ketchup all over your jacket." It was an almost passive remark, but it was just enough to bring the tires against the rubber. Sans appeared to not be biting, but Flowey knew better than to sink into that façade. His smile was getting cheekier.

"Did you relish it," Sans asked with a wink. Flowey stared at the skeleton.

"I'm not answering that." Flowey looked away.

"it didn't have to be a question." With a growl, Flowey swerved around and faced him, making direct contact with his eyes.

"Okay then," the flower started. "Let's get to business. Why were you searching for me after the barrier broke?"

The skeleton didn't answer. His eyes were locked right with Flowey's and that _innocent little smile_ he carried started to become all the more menacing as he glared.

"oh, you know," Sans explained casually. "i was in the neighborhood. somebody's gotta take care of those flowers. make sure no weeds grow in there." Sans shifted his eyes. "guess i overlooked."

Flowey smiled patronizingly. "So what? Were you trying to _kill_ me? How adorable!" He had to giggle at that. Did he realize how many times he could have died, but didn't? Years and years of deaths piled one on top of the other. If Flowey's had a dead body for everytime he died, there would be enough bodies to fill a stadium. Flowey's eyes narrowed into slits. "Did Frisk tell you something they shouldn't have? How much do you know?" Sans chuckled at that.

"how much do i know of what?"

"Don't play with me, Sans," Flowey barked. "What do you know about the timelines?"

"you really wanna go there, don't you pal?"

"YES, because of anyone has more dirt on me than anyone else, it's gotta be you." Well actually, if Flowey's theory of Sans not retaining memories from other timelines was correct, he would only be the second biggest threat. Whatever, the plant still got the desired effect!

Without warning, the skeleton slid out of his seat. He wasn't even looking in his direction. It seemed reminiscent, though. There was a time when the frustrated flower attempted to challenge Sans to a duel. At first it didn't seem as if he would bite. He rose from his sentry station slowly, as if there wasn't any real urgency. Then with one swift swiping of his arm, Flowey found himself face to face with a tree and the showering 'face-plant' jokes that came right after.

There was no tree this time, much to Flowey's fortune. Sans kept walking away from him. Flowey studied his adversary with caution. From the looks of it, there was no way he was going to fight. For Sans, it was all the matter of stepping on the right toes. Outside of that, Sans had to be the laziest bum he had ever met.

Then the skeleton stopped. He stood completely still and Flowey's glare was locked to his body. He wouldn't dare turn away. With a glance, Sans noted the flower and then the bookshelf before him. He rolled back his shoulders.

"welp," the skeleton finally spoke. "you gonna reset?"

Flowey's eyes widened. Was this a joke? Was he trying to rub that lack of power in his face? With clenched teeth, the flower stretched his mouth with the stench of his friendly façade.

"Golly, would I _love_ to," the plant sneered. The skeleton's head snapped at him.

"go on then," Sans said calmly. "i'm surprised we even stayed here this long."

"Well, gee," Flowey smirked. "Sorry to say you might be trapped in this timeline, buddy. It's not that I _won_ _'_ _t_ do it, but that I _can_ _'_ _t_ do it. Frisk has that ability now. Their DETERMINATION always seems to override mine."

And with that, the Smiley Trashbag turned around, strolling back with that agonizing smile slashed permanently on his face. Gosh, did he hate that _stupid smile…_

"then…" Sans started, closing his eyes. "other than being my brother's secret admirer… you're not a threat. if anybody's got more dirt on you, frisk would be the one you wanna talk to."

"But SANS," Flowey growled. "I'm talking about YOU! Do YOU remember ANYTHING AT ALL about the timelines?" Sans was leering over the flower pot at this point, that lifeless smile unfolding in front of him. Flowey wondered why he was even pushing it so hard if he already knew the answer. Yet he wouldn't look away from the skeleton until he shut his eyes again, sighing solemnly.

"you really wanna know," Sans asked.

"YES!"

Sans grabbed the pot, all of a sudden. The disoriented flower watched as Sans took him to the kitchen of all places.

"Wait Sans," Flowey piped up. "Where are we going?"

"you said you wanted to know," Sans replied, opening the freezer door. "it's either here or outside."

"What are you talking about," the flower protested. "I'm not going in THERE! You're crazy!"

"really? because it looks like you can't take the heat. time for you to chill out." What made things worse was that there was a pot full of milk sitting on the stove, but Papyrus was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Papyrus," Flowey demanded. "Papyrus, help! Help! The skeleton is bullying me! PAPYRUS!" …but nobody came. _Figures._ Some things just never seem to change. Why did he even try?

The flower thrashed and rattled violently in Sans's grip, but the skeleton knew better than to carry Flowey around. With one swift move of his arm, Flowey went smashing against the frozen meatballs and veggies, soil displacing itself all over from behind him. It was a miracle that idiot didn't break the pot.

"welp," the skeleton saluted. "see ya, nerd." _SLAM!_

* * *

"FLOWEY," Papyrus called out urgently. "ARE YOU IN HERE?" For once the blinding light meant something good and it wasn't the afterlife.

"FLOWEY!" The skeleton grabbed the pot before wagging his finger childishly at him. "HOW DID YOU END UP IN HERE? DON'T YOU KNOW THE FREEZER IS NOT FOR FLOWERS!?"

The plant in question shivered violently, his face full of rage. "Why don't you go ask your t-trash brother," he growled. "He sure knows A LOT about that!" Handing the pot over to Frisk, Papyrus began scooping up the stray soil while reorganizing the freezer. Frisk frowned at the plant.

"I didn't think you'd get into this much trouble," said the child.

"Yeah, and I di-didn't think I'd get into such _little_ trouble," Flowey cried. "You're just lucky I didn't bl-blast him into pieces!"

"OH, LOOK AT HIM," Papyrus howled as he set the soil in Flowey's pot. "HE'S SO COLD THAT HE'S NOT THINKING STRAIGHT. I SHOULD'VE KNOWN BETTER THAN TO LEAVE FLOWEY WITH SANS FOR SO LONG. HE MUST HAVE BECOME SO WARM THAT HE WANTED TO BE COLD AGAIN. NOT TO WORRY, FLOWEY! THE MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED; A NICE, REFRESHING CUP OF ICE-"

"GRRRR!"

"I-I MEAN HOT! HOT COCOA! NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus was sweating nervously. He grabbed two mugs, filled them with the drink, and set them before the children. Frisk took one and brought it up to shivering flower's mouth. "DRINK UP!" He took a swig and cringed.

"Wow, that's hot," Flowey gasped, blinking his eyes. "Good job, Papyrus."

"I helped!" Frisk smiled sheepishly. "Thanks again, Papyrus!"

"WITH GREAT PLEASURE, HUMAN," The skeleton blushed. Scooping up the cups and the pot together, the child hurried away to their room. Papyrus waved to them. "ANY TIME!"

* * *

"I hate it here," Flowey grumbled at the child. He swore if he had arms, they would be crossed by now. Everything about this situation sucked from the people to his current status as a pathetic houseplant. Even the view outside sucked because there was a tree and house in the way and it wasn't like he had legs that he could walk around with. He was confined in a child's room and the child didn't want to play with him. A whole day sitting around being bored and they have to go do math. Flowey scowled at the child. "Why am I still here, anyway?"

"Well, mom said it's best to let you heal first before we let you go."

"Your mom is an idiot." Frisk slammed their pencil down.

"But Flowey," they gasped in shock. "She's your mother, too!"

"NO, SHE'S NOT," Flowey snapped. "I HAVE NO MOTHER! I DON'T _NEED_ A MOTHER! I'M FINE ON MY OWN!" He whipped away haughtily, trying to focus on the view outside, but Frisk wouldn't let him. Instead, they wrapped their arms around his pot and brought the angry plant close to them. They wondered how long it had been since Flowey got a hug or kiss or any kind of love from someone. They thought maybe he would appreciate it. And he did… with a prickly vine slashing against their cheek.

"Don't touch me," he spat, bearing his fangs. "I don't want your saccharine _bullshit_! In this world, it's KILL or BE KILLED. The only _love_ that will ever matter here is LOVE." With a grunt, Frisk released the plant, but Flowey lost his balance and rolled over the child's homework. Their hands were shaky as they anxiously tried to prop him back up. Thank goodness he wasn't recently watered.

"Flowey," Frisk stared, a protective hand over their torn cheek. "I just wanted to help."

"Really, you wanted to help," the flower mocked. "Why don't you give me your SOUL then, huh? You can't change me, you idiot. Nobody can. I've seen all of this before and you're no different. You just want me to _feel_ again, like everybody else."

"Why can't you try again," Frisk wailed, wiping their tears in their eyes. "Please, we could help you if you just try!"

"No, I already tried! Can't you see that it's impossible, Frisk? That it's impossible because I don't have a SOUL? You're better off taking me back to the underground. I don't really care about you or anybody else in this pointless world." His vines coiled tighter around the locket. "There's only one person I care about and even then… I wouldn't truly be able to care about them." Flowey lowered his head. Even with a wall of ceramic between him and Chara, Flowey could still hear their heart beating just as strong. The sickly plant began to steady his breath, the heavy gasps becoming soft.

Frisk sat on their bed, licking the blood and tears off their hands and rubbing it against their pants. Knowing that Flowey did care for at least one person. It filled them with DETERMINATION. Frisk looked up at him, attempting to veer the conversation somewhere else.

"So… what have you been doing all day?"

"Nothing."

Frisk blinked. "Nothing?" The pale flower nodded.

"It would have been great… until Papyrus showed up and ruined EVERYTHING. He decided it'd be funny to put me next to his trash brother and then ABANDON me!" He hollered that last part at the door, hoping Papyrus would hear.

"But… why would you willingly do nothing all day?"

"Well, it's not like I could do anything to begin with," Flowey retorted. "I don't have any hands and from the way I see it, I either play dead or somebody DROPS dead around here. Okay?"

Frisk nodded, their eyes wandering to the floor. The room became quiet momentarily.

"That reminds me," Flowey piped up again. "About animals on the surface world. Are they like humans and their bodies stay after dying?"

"Uh… yeah. Why do you ask?"

"I was just thinking is all. Would you mind putting me up by the window sill again and leaving it open? That way I could get more sunlight."

Within the reaches of their right ear, Frisk could hear a door opening, followed by some greetings from downstairs. Frisk swiftly followed what Flowey asked before spinning around and running down stairs. They almost missed their leap into their surrogate mother's arms again.

"Mommy!"

"Frisk," Toriel cried, wrapping the child into a big motherly hug. Of course, she had to be careful as human bones weren't as strong as a boss monster's. She couldn't hold them as tightly as she would with Asriel. It was one of the small things she missed about her flesh-born child. The fact that she always had so much love to pour out on Frisk, but constantly had to refrain herself from doing so. Frisk could feel her holding back too, but they giggled all the same. Toriel playfully swung the child around before actually studying their face. "Did you have a good day at school, today? …My child, your face is bleeding." Toriel ran her thumb through their cheek and dried blood got caught in her fur. "What happened?"

"It's nothing," Frisk said dismissively.

"Nothing?" Toriel's eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah," Frisk nodded vigorously. Then they looked away. "…um… Flowey and I got into an argument… and I tried to comfort him, but he um… he slapped me. It was my fault, though. I should have left him alone…" Frisk's eyes shifted continuously, bringing their hands over their mouth. What if Sans finds out? Fear for the ill plant's fate dangled over them like a chandelier about to fall.

"QUEEN TORIEL," Papyrus interrupted. Sometimes "Queen" would slip out without him even realizing. The skeleton was more excited than usual. "THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS BEEN MAKING HIS WORLD FAMOUS SPAGHETTI!"

"and it's edible this time," Sans added.

"SEE? EVEN MY BROTHER IS SMILING OVER IT! I'LL BE SEEING YOU TWO AT DINNER~. NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" Then his head disappeared into the living room. Toriel began to set the child down when Papyrus popped up a second time. "HEH." Both of their heads snapped in his direction as he fled. Gazing at their towering mother, Frisk could tell that she wasn't upset. Her eyes were actually quite soft. Toriel ran her fingers through the child's hair reassuringly.

"I will talk to Flowey after dinner," she declared. "In the meantime, I will dress up your wound."

* * *

Flowey appeared to be livelier by the time Frisk came back. He smiled brightly at the child, watching them step into the room.

"Howdy, Frisk," the flower greeted. Frisk jumped back. "Is it time for dinner, yet?"

"Almost," Frisk replied with a half-smile. It had been so long since Flowey looked this buoyant. They tried not to let the sudden change faze them, however. "Would you like to join us? Papyrus and the others would really appreciate it if you came this time." It would also mean that Frisk could enjoy their dinner with their family again; something they haven't been able to do since Christmas.

"I sure would," Flowey chirped, wiggling his little limp leaves. "I can't wait!"

"Okay." A sense of unease permeated the air. Frisk could feel it. The child's hand trembled as they did their homework, glancing now and again. At one point, Flowey even gave them his famous wink. They almost missed Toriel's call for dinner.

* * *

Things went smoothly at first. Papyrus had been raving the whole time over how great his cooking and Mettaton's new show. Apparently, it's been getting dramatic ratings for its spontaneity and humor. It was a huge step compared to the small stage he, Shyren, Napstablook, and Burgerpants first resided on. Papyrus reenacted a few parts which, for once in a blue moon, Flowey laughed genuinely at. Meanwhile, Frisk took note of the flower. Toriel and Papyrus told him how happy they were to see him getting better, but Frisk thought otherwise. It wasn't until he heard his laughter from how loud he snorted that maybe he really was trying to get better. This was turning out to be a great start for him.

"Don't forget dessert," Flowey chimed in suddenly. Everyone was just about finished with dinner, laughing among themselves when something popped out of the flower's pot right into Frisk's empty spaghetti bowl. It was black and had its limbs sprawled out. Its spinal cord was sticking out like jagged shards from being shoved into the pot and its eyes and beak were gaping open, staring at anyone who had the audacity to look. It was a dead bird.

Screams rang throughout the house as more than half the table scurried away into various corners of the dining room. Frisk nearly fell out of their chair in shock, crawling away in fear as the flower laughed at them all.

"What is that," Toriel shrieked. "Are they even alive?!" The only one who never moved a muscle was Sans, who was watching the plant and smiling. That _lousy, no good piece of_ _…_

"wooow," Sans looked around in his own amusement. "looks like you really knocked 'em dead, huh Flowey?" As the shorter skeleton reached over to pick up the rotten bird, Papyrus fainted.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hey there! It's been awhile, huh? Like two months. Oh my goodness, I was not expecting to take so long! I hope this makes up for it, though. I'm expecting that the next chapter should be shorter and that's when things really start hitting the rubber. So I'm excited for that! If anything, you can follow my Tumblr ( bunnyrocxpantz) or the tag SSaCaGF for updates as I actually am taking my time with this (in case you couldn't already tell) pouring my love into it. I am determined to finish this fic. Also, I'm planning on reediting this first two chapters of this fic because there are some small inconsistencies I want to fix, but it's nothing huge. I appreciate any comments you guys give me because I love to hear your reactions, no matter what they are. What you like, what you didn't like, whatever! They really make my day and thank you all for the support I've been getting so far! Toodles~**


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